Youth tobacco use reaches 25-year low, CDC says

Oct. 17 (UPI) — About 2.25 million U.S. middle- and high-school students this year say they use tobacco products, which is 500,000 fewer than a year ago, the Centers for Disease Control said Thursday.

The current number of youth who use tobacco products is the lowest number in 25 years and down from 2.8 million in 2023, according to the CDC.

“Reaching a 25-year low for youth tobacco product use is an extraordinary milestone for public health,” CDC Office on Smoking and Health Director Deirdre Lawrence Kittner said Thursday in a press release. “We must remain committed to public health efforts to ensure all youth can live healthy, tobacco-free lives.”

The CDC determined the current number of youth smokers in its 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey and attributes the decline in tobacco use to students lowering their use of e-cigarettes.

About 2.13 million youth in 2023 said they used e-cigarettes versus 1.63 million this year, the survey indicates.

E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among youth, with 5.9% of smokers saying they use them versus 1.4% using cigarettes and 1.2% cigars.

Another 1.2% said they use smokeless tobacco and an equal percentage said they use other oral nicotine products.

Heated tobacco products accounted for 0.8% of youth tobacco use, followed by hookahs, 0.7%, and pipe tobacco, 0.5%.

Cigarette smoking among youth reached the lowest level ever recorded by the survey, which shows only 1.4% of students said they used cigarettes.

Also down is the number of youth hookah users, which recorded a drop of 100,000 from 290,000 in 2023 to 190,000 this year.

The CDC said many factors likely caused the reduction in tobacco use among youth, including evidence-based strategies used at the national, state and local levels.

Such strategies include price increases for tobacco products and mass media campaigns that educate youth on the dangers of using tobacco.

The Food and Drug Administration also continues regulating tobacco product sales and thoroughly reviews and enforces compliance among manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of tobacco products.